As the director of Baylor’s Veterans Health Research Program and an expert on Gulf War Illness research, Dr. Lea Steele was called to testify last month before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations related to these allegations. Steele told the committee that the VA has been slow to clearly and accurately acknowledge the problem and has failed to establish an effective and strategic scientific research program to address Gulf War illness research questions. [Watch Steele’s testimony here, beginning at the 1:35:38 mark, or read the transcript of her appearance here.]

Baylor’s research on Gulf War Illness (led by Steele) last fall was awarded a grant of $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to address multiple aspects of the syndrome, from studies on the biological processes causing the varied symptoms to development of a nationwide network that would advance health research on the issue.